Jarred Marks Divorce, Contested & Uncontested
Representation from the first filing through the decree, whether you and your spouse agree on most terms or on none of them.
Family Law & Divorce · Wasatch Front
A divorce is a lawsuit, and it ends in a court order that divides your property and sets the schedule for your children. We represent spouses and parents in divorce, custody, support, and modification cases, including cases with a house, a business, or retirement accounts to divide.
How We Help
Representation from the first filing through the decree, whether you and your spouse agree on most terms or on none of them.
Decision-making authority and the parenting schedule, negotiated where the parents can agree and litigated where they cannot.
We set support in divorce and custody cases, and we litigate disputes over the income figures support is calculated from.
Claims for alimony and defense against them, including disputes over need, earning capacity, and duration.
We divide the marital home, other real estate, business interests, and retirement accounts, along with the debts attached to each.
When your circumstances change, we ask the court to revise the custody or support terms of an existing decree. We also oppose modifications the other side files.
We establish or contest parentage, then obtain the custody and support orders that follow from it.
If your former spouse stops paying support, refuses to transfer property the decree awarded you, or ignores the parenting schedule, we ask the court to enforce its order.
How the Case Works
Your case will have pleadings, an exchange of financial information, negotiation, and, if you and the other side cannot agree, a trial. We are a litigation firm, and we prepare a contested case on the assumption that a judge may decide it, because a spouse who sees that preparation has a reason to settle on reasonable terms.
When the marital estate includes real estate or a closely held business, the hard questions are who holds title and what the asset is worth. We answer those same questions for clients in our real estate and business litigation practice.
Bring any papers you have been served with or have filed, your last two tax returns, recent pay records, and your account statements. If you own a home, bring the deed and the mortgage statement. If a decree or custody order already exists, bring that too.
An uncontested divorce, where you and your spouse agree on every term, is handled for a flat fee. A contested case is billed by the hour against a retainer held in the firm's trust account. Your engagement letter states the fee, the rate, and the retainer before you sign.
Case Review
Describe your situation in general terms and we will follow up to discuss your options. Or call (801) 823-4379 and leave a message.
If you have been served with divorce or custody papers, say so in the form. You will have a deadline to respond, and it decides how quickly we need to talk.
We need the name of your spouse or the other parent to run a conflict check before we can discuss the details of your case.
Common Questions
You may not need one for the whole case. Your agreement still has to be written into papers a judge will sign, in terms either of you can enforce later. We can review the agreement you reached or represent you from filing through the decree.
Yes. We represent parents who were never married to each other, and parents asking the court to change or enforce an existing custody order. Where parentage has to be established first, we handle the paternity case as part of the same matter.
It depends on how much of the case is contested. Family law matters are billed hourly against a retainer, so a case that settles early costs less than one that goes to trial. Court filing fees and other costs are separate from the fee. Your rate and retainer are stated in writing before you sign.
We take family law cases in Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, and Utah counties. The firm is fully virtual, so meetings happen by phone or video and documents move by email.
Tell us where the case stands and we will explain how we would handle it and what it would cost.
Call (801) 823-4379